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A. J. ROBERTS- PNEUMATIC METAL CATCHER. APPLICATION FILED MAR. I. 1919.

' Patented June 17, 1919.

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ALONZQ J. ROBERTS, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR T0 WILLIAMS PATENT CRUSHER AND PULVERIZER 00., OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

PNEUMATIC METAL-CATCI-IER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALoNzo J. Romm'rs, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, State of Missouri; have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pneumatic Metal-Catchers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in pneumatic metal catchers, the peculiarities of which will be hereinafter described and claimed.

The object of my improvements is to provide means for separating pneumatically, metal, gravel, sand, and like heavy or foreign matter-from the feed hopper in the supply delivered to feed mills, grinders, and

similar machines. v

My improvements relate to an air supply pipe with a flaring end adapted to deliver a regulatable current of air directly oppos ing a vertically descending stream of feed,

so as to return the lighter particles over the top while the heavier particles drop and have reference to means for catching the medium heavy particles. that are not light enough td be sucked over the top with the feed, nor heavy enough to drop to a pocket in the bottom of the air pipe; and allow of the passing of the heavier particles of the feed proper to the mill througha bypass and joining the main supply of feed proper passing over the top of said pipe; and have reference to other points hereinafter de-v scribed and claimed.

In the accompanying drawingon which like reference letters indicate corresponding parts, Figure 1 represents a front view of a mill and fan having my improvement applied thereto; Fig. 2 a side view of said mill and fan, with my improved catcher shown in section, and part of said mill and fan being broken away; and Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of a part of my catcher and partly in section.

The letters A designates a mill ofany suitable construhtion, and B a fan, such as a flywheel fan mounted on said mill, and connected thereto by a pipe C in order to produce a suction through the mill and through the feed inlet D at the top thereof. Pivoted rotary hammers E, Fig. 2, rotate in the direction of the arrow past the said feed opening. A cut-ofl-' slide F varies the size of this opening for the inlet of feed.

Above this inlet for the main supply of Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Jung 1'? 19119, Application filed March 1, 1Q19. Serial No. 280,007.

' G, the outlet H of which registers with the inlet opening to the mill, and the inlet I to said drum at the top is connected by a pipe J to a feed hopper A, or other means for delivering the feed to said 'drum..

The outlet and inlet of said drum are reduced in size by cone ends of the drum, and the delivery pipe J "is preferably provided with a slip extension L, the bottom end of which is inside of the drum and has a flaring downwardly inclined cone K, practically the size of -said drum G and adjustable up and down therein. A strip M with a pin passing through holes in said pipe J according to the adjusted position of the slip pipe, maintains the" adjusted position thereof.

In the upper part of said drum is located a' registering cone N opposing said cone K but of lesser diameter at its periphery, and forming the upper-end of a centrally located air pipe 0, having its lower end P turned outward and downward to pass outside of said drum G, and form a pocket Q at the bottom thereof to which access is had by means of a slide R. In the upper side of the lower part of this pipe P is an air valve .-through the mill inlet D by the exhaust fan B. This central pipe 0 and its extension P are preferably rectangular, and the flaring end provided with a downwardly inclined edge N is preferably round as it is adapted to register with the upper cone K and the drum Gr inclosing said cones.

The stream of feed descending vertically from the hopper A through the pipe L, meets the upwardly acting current of air entering through the valve-S and passing upward through the pipe 0 directly in line with and opposing the delivery pipe L, and its vertical descending direction is changed to an upward and outward direction over the, downturned edge, N of the flaring end of the pipe 0 and then downward inside the,

drum G to the inlet D of the mill as to the lighter particles therein; but the heavier particles, such as nails, descend through the pipe 0 into the pocketQ' at the bottom of the pipe I. The valve S allows of regulating the amount of the air entering through the pipes P and O. The velocity from the pipe L and its extension into the flaring end of the pipe 0.

For the heaviest foreign particles, such as nails and other metal pieces, this pocket Q is suflicient, but I have found it advisable to provide another means of separating particles that are of medium weight from the feed proper, when such medium particles, such as lighter particles of metal or gravel and sand, are contained in the feed supply. I therefore provide in the pipe 0 a lateral extension or inclined leg T, communicating by an opening U with thepipe O, and preferably rectangular in order that the edge V at the lower intersection may be straight and horizontal. The pipe T inclines downward, and outside of the drum G is widened horizontally as shown in Fig. 1 at W, to aconnection with a reversely inclined rectangular box Y, that communicates with the mill particles, .of the cone N and yet light enough to be through another mill inlet (l. This box Y has a pocket 2, by which means .the medium heavy particles passing'over the edge V and down the pipe T and flaring endoW, arecaught as they drop into the box Y as indicated in Fig. 2. A slide 3 allows of the cleaning of said box or pocket from the accumulated particles.

In the pipe T and outside of the drum G is a cut-off slide 4 by which the size ofthe pipe-T is varied, or maybe closed entirely. When the slide 4 is closed, all the air admitted by the air valve S passes upward and over the flaring endof the pipe 0 and downward with the lighter particles of feed to the feed inlet D. -Also another pocket Q for medium particles is formed in the pipeT above the cut-off slide. When the slide 4 is open more or less, a part of the air entering the valve S is deflected through the bypass formed by the pipes T, W and box Y, to the mill inlet d. Thus medium heavy notnormally sucked-over the top acted on by the air current through the valve S, are deflected over the edge V into the by-pass and are caught in the pocket 2.v

The feed that may be taken along with the metal particles, will proceed onward throu h the inlet (1 and join the main supply elivered' by the pipe H to the inlet D.

In the box Y are jections 5from the bottom of the box, and inclined toward the hammers E, so that should any particles of metal, such as broken pieces of the hammers, be driven outwardprovided sawtooth pro-- by the hammers into the box Y they will be caught by said projections 5 or by the pocket 2 beyond said projections.

I have found that when operating upon lighter material than screenings, the feed proper passing through the by-pass with the medium heavy metal particles does not lodge-with the metal in the pocket 2 but is carried onward to the mill. lVith feed that is heavier than screenings, the pocket 2 may fill up as indicated by the dotted line Fig. 2, but the bed of material thus formed, together with the projections 5, will catch the medium heavy particles descending through the by-pass.

The cut-off slide 4 in the leg which is likewise subject to air suction, varies the relative proportion of the suction in said leg to the suction over the top of the flaring upper end, and therefore the relative amount of feed that may be taken through the pipe T and the communicating extension WV and the box Y to said mill.- iVhile I have described the space between the top cone N and the slip cone K at the drum inlet, as being varied by adjusting the upper cone. this space between the flaring upper end and the inlet for the feed may be varied by other means than by adjusting the cone N as a slip cone extension of the pipe L.

The square or rectangular pipes O and T forming the horizontal intersecting edge V, are preferably of this form in order to provide an edge of uniform height to secure uniform elevation or deflection of the medium light particles and metal over said edge V.

By means of the two adjustments of the velocity of the air admitted through the valve S,that is, the velocity between the flaring upper end and the feed inlet above, and the velocity over the edge V at the intersection of the inclined pipe or leg T and the vertical pipe O,I am able to obtain a separation of metal and other foreign substances in the feed, whatever the relative proportion of weight between the feed proper and said foreign particles or substances. Thus as to the weight of the foreign su tancesand the weight of the feed proper. I'claim:

1. A pneumatic metal catcher comprising a drum having a top feed inlet opening and an outlet opening subject to air suction, a plpe having a flaring top centrally disposed below said inlet and having its lower end extended outside said drum and forming a pocket. an air regulating valve, in the out side part of said pipe, and means to vary the size of the space and consequently the air velocity bet-ween said flaring end and the top inlet.

A pneumatic metal catcher comprising a vertical drum having a top feed inlet opening and a lower outlet opening subject to air suctioinan adjustable pipe having a'flaring cone bottom mounted in said inlet, a pipe having a flaring cone top centrally disposed below and matching said adjustable cone bottom, and having its lower end extended outside said drum forming a pocket,

and an air regulating valve in the outside part of the latter pipe.

A pneumatic metal catcher comprising a vertical drum having a top feed inlet and a lower outlet subject to air suction, a rectangular pipe having a flaring top centrally disposed below said top inlet, and having a bent-out lower end extended outside said drum forming a pocket, an air regulating valve in the outside end of said pipe, and

' an inclined leg intersecting said rectangular pipe below its flaring top and opposite said bent-out lower end, and a reversely inclined box at the lower end of said leg forming a tieles are caught in the lirst named pot-lt'et;

and medium particles pass through the b pass to the secondary pocket.

4. A pneumatic metal catcher comprising a vertical drum having a top feed inlet and a lower outlet subject to air suction, a rectangular pipe having a flaring to centrally disposed below said top inlet, and having a bent-out lower end extended outside said drum forming a pocket. an air regulating valve in the outside end of said pipe, an inclined leg intersecting said rectangular pipe, below its flaring top and opposite said bent out lower end and likewise. subject to air suction, and a cut-off valve regulating the suction through the leg with regard to the suction over the top colic ol' the first-named pipe.

In testimony whereof I have atlixed my signature.

ALUNZU J. noenn'rs. 

